


You Know I'll Never Be Lonely

by justfantasy



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Angst, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 18:02:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justfantasy/pseuds/justfantasy
Summary: The year is 1971. John Deacon plays with Queen for the first time. The band finally gets the chance to record some demos and anxiously waits for their break. And at one of the many parties they attend, he meets her for the first time in years and somehow, the five of their lives are interwoven and brought together in ways throughout the years they never imagined would be.





	You Know I'll Never Be Lonely

**Author's Note:**

> I started this way back last year in November when I was emotional about many things and wrote this story as a way to escape my problems, and hope some people will enjoy reading it. The summary is very vague and general to the actual plot of this work but never knowing how to summarize anything, it's the best I can do... Also, this is a work of fiction and posted here for entertainment purposes only. No offense is intended for any of the people mentioned about. So, here goes the story that absolutely no one asked for!

**1971  
** **December**

The flat was bustling with people when Laura walked in, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol thick in the air and congested with music and noise. Smoke like fog in the dim lighting, she struggled to squeeze through the throng of people to find who she was looking for. 

Regret filled her mind as she wondered why she agreed to come to this party in the first place. She hated small places packed with people she didn’t know, her anxiety always getting better of her, and up to this point had succeeded in avoiding it altogether in her university years. She could’ve made an excuse and refused like any other day but tonight she couldn’t find it in her heart to say no, the reason currently perched on the armrest of the couch in the living room, leaning against the wall with a cup of beer in his hand, smiling at whatever conversation the group with him was having. 

Although it’d been years since she last saw him, she recognized him as soon as she set her eyes on him. God, he hasn’t changed at all has he, his boyish smile taking her back in time. They’d known each other since they were babies, seeing how their mothers were the best of friends, practically joined at the hip. It was only inevitable that she and John would become good friends, too.

He was quiet for the most part, but smart and nice and such fun to be around with that Laura stuck by him all the way till he left for uni a few years back, which left her quite devastated. So she didn’t understand why she felt so hesitant reaching out to him when she also left their hometown for uni in London a year later. John and Laura, they were always known as, never just John or just Laura, because they were together all the time. They bumped into each other once by chance but it didn’t go past the surprise of seeing each other, half-awkward hellos, and small pleasantries with her being late for class and his friends calling him over. It was disappointing, really. Seeing her closest friend, her John, and expecting things to be the same as before, but not. 

“You know that band Freddie is in?” She remembered Mary asking her one day out of the blue. “Your friend from home, John, was it? He’s in it, too. Plays the bass.”

Staring at her flatmate with a blank expression, Laura wasn’t aware she talked about John enough for Mary to remember her friend from childhood, let alone his name. Laura didn’t have anything to say other than, “Oh, that’s nice.” 

“Really, Laura?” Mary stared at her questioningly at her reaction. “I thought you guys used to be best friends.”

“I know, but it’s been long since we’ve even seen or talked to each other and we’re now just acquaintances at best if you can even call it that,” Laura said with a shrug, though it hurt her deeply to admit. 

“Don’t you want to at least see how he’s doing, though?” Mary asked with a hopeful look, at which Laura frowned.

“Uh, no. Not going to have that ‘how have you been’ awkward meeting again, Mary.”

“Uh-huh,” Mary commented casually with a playful glint in her eyes. “Then I guess it’s bad that I told him you’ll be at the party this weekend to see him.”

“You said what?” Laura questioned, hands over her cheeks. “Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary, you know how much I hate parties and having to make small talk with people I’d rather not see.” 

Mary grimaced. She knew it was serious when Laura said her name three times in _that_ way. “I’m sorry, Laura. But, hey, I’ll be there to keep you company and you’ll finally get to meet Freddie and my friends!”

At that, she felt a little bit guilty. Mary had tried to arrange several get-togethers in order to introduce her boyfriend and his band, who’d become good friends of Mary’s, to Laura but she managed to get out of all of them, leaving Mary disappointed. 

So, here she was, at some random person’s flat for a party that made her feel like she’d be trampled to death if there ever was a fire. Weird thought. And she blamed her flatmate for it, which was stupid because she didn’t force Laura to be here, but also her friend that she probably wouldn’t have seen ever again if it wasn’t for said flatmate.

“Hey, Laura, over here!”

It was a miracle she could hear Mary’s voice over all the noise and Laura looked to her direction to find her arm raised to wave her over. She was sitting in the middle of a couch with a group of people she didn’t know, other than—

Turning his head in her direction as soon as Mary said her name, Laura really regretted coming now when she saw the look on his face. But when their eyes met, Laura smiled slightly out of formality and he did the same.

Mary stood up when Laura reached the group and pulled her over so she was standing next to her, giving Laura a bright smile and linking her arm with her in greeting. All eyes were on Laura; she could literally feel all of them staring and she tried to ignore the strange nervousness and the tension she felt creeping up her neck. 

“Guys, this is my friend Laura that I told you so much about,” Mary said excitedly with a smile, eyes hopeful as she glanced at Laura to gauge her reaction. Laura tried her best to smile and look friendly while Mary went around and introduced her to the group one by one. 

“So _you’re _Laura,” It was Freddie, Mary’s boyfriend, eyes shy but very animated and sweet in nature (as she remembered Mary gush to her several times). “She really does talk about you all the time, you know.”

“And you’re _Freddie_,” Laura replied, her smile reaching her eyes at his excitement in finally meeting her. “I was wondering if we were going to ever meet.”

He rolled his eyes dramatically. “It should be me saying that to you.”

“And this one over here is Brian,” Mary continued in introductions. He gave Laura a small smile as a greeting as Laura mouthed hi to him. He was tall, Laura could tell even though he was sitting down, lanky and hair very dark and curly. Mary whispered in her ear that he was the guitarist of the band and went back to introducing other people in their circle that Laura couldn’t remember the names of after the party ended. 

“And finally, you know John, right Laura?” Mary chirped. 

When John smiled at her again, Laura’s mind took her back in time for a second when they were younger. No real worries, no real stress, just her and John listening to yet another record he managed to discover while rummaging in the music shop near school, together in his home, smiling at her with that same boyish smile when she moved her head slightly to the beat of the music, a silent admission that told him she liked it too.

“I do,” Laura replied, a trace of a smile on her lips. He was a bit taller and his hair so long she had to wonder if his mom knew anything about it, but it seemed like nothing much had changed. Well, other than being in a rock band, of course. 

Neither John nor Laura made a move to do anything or catch up, Laura still standing beside Mary and John by the wall, and witnessing their non-existent interaction, Mary pulled Laura to the couch with her so they could sit, taking part in small talk here and there with Freddie and Brian. Apparently, the band was in the process of recording demos at the studio.

“They’re only letting us record there in exchange for us helping out with the sound engineers there,” Freddie informed the newest addition to the group as he took a sip of his drink.

Then Brian and Freddie proceeded to talk about one of the songs they recorded, something about keeping yourself alive, which Laura thought was a bit strange but nodded in amusement as the two boys went on discussing the sound and how they weren’t satisfied which how it turned out, and eventually arguing quite passionately what the song should sound like.

After that commotion, she was told there was another member in the band, a drummer named Roger that was off doing God knows what with God knows who. 

“Thank God it’s just the two of them here,” Mary muttered to her in good nature. “Or else we’d never hear the end of it.”

“Oh, you’ll love him. He lives for these kinds of things, that Roger,” Freddie said fondly of his friend that he’s known for the past year or two. “Life of the party!”

“I think the only reason he’s in the band is for these parties,” Brian joked with a small roll of his eyes. “He loves it when someone recognizes him.”

Not really knowing who he was or what he was like, all Laura could do was nod along as she’d been doing for the past fifteen minutes as the conversation drifted to another topic. Her mind was somewhere else, though. Or more specifically, was on someone else. She couldn’t help but glance at John a couple of times throughout the conversation. He just mostly smiled and laughed without saying much. 

Laura wondered if she should go stand there next to him and try to make conversation. It seemed pretty pointless to be at this party if her reason for being here was to see John. Normal people would do that when they haven’t seen their friend in a long time, right? But did the guy want to talk to her? Was he even happy to see her? A million thoughts raced through her mind as she took a long sip of beer that someone gave her along the night.

When she looked over at him again, she found him staring at her. And after what felt like minutes, but probably three seconds at most, John nodded her over to come over to him by the wall. 

Half anxious and half annoyed for some reason, she excused herself from the group on the couch and walked over to the empty spot next to him by the wall. Catching the mischievous look in Mary’s eyes, Laura rolled her eyes at her before she turned to look at John. 

Standing there next to him, she leaned her back against the wall and watched as he turned his body away from his friends to face her. She looked silently as he smiled at her awkwardly, crossing his arms across his chest.

“What has it been, almost three years?” He asked, and she grinned and nodded in response. “How have you been, Laura?”

“Oh, you know,” She said as she looked down, playing with her hands slightly before looking up at him again. “Good.” 

He nodded at her answer, grinning at her shyness and his own awkwardness. She grinned back.

“So,” Laura started after a moment. “You’re in a rock band now?”

“Yeah,” He chuckled, both of them knowing his history of playing instruments and forming bands. “Who would’ve thought?” 

“Guess that explains the hair,” She joked, motioning to his long locks.

Patting the top of his head, he told her in good-nature. “Took me forever to grow it out, you know.”

“Wait a little longer and it’ll be longer than my hair,” She smiled, touching the ends of her hair, and told him after a beat. “I like it.” 

He smiled at that and commented on how she hasn’t changed much at all.

“Oh, no,” She groaned playfully. “At least tell me I look better than I did in school.”

He paused for a second, giving her a quick once-over and told her with an amused glint to his eyes. “Definitely prettier.”

She couldn't help but smile at him again. 

They were standing closer to each other than before, their faces no more than a foot away from each other. It was the only way they could hear each other from the noise of the party, and there was really no room for them to move with people all over the cramped space, they reasoned in their minds. 

Laura eased into the conversation after a few minutes, feeling a bit more comfortable around him, teasing him occasionally here and there like she used to do. And John, just the same, went along with whatever she said, making off-hand comments in reply to make her laugh.

Had it really been almost three years? Used to her days without him there, she realized now how much she missed talking to him and being with him, and wondered whether he did too. But seeing as how he wasn’t excusing himself to leave and kept the conversation going just fine, Laura assumed he felt the same. And for a few moments, they were completely oblivious as to what others around them were doing or saying. It was just John and Laura, just like the old times. 

“Who’s that talking to John?” Roger asked as soon as he found Brian and his friends on the couch, returning from whatever activities he was enjoying previously. His hair slightly disheveled and face drawn in concentration, he looked over to John and the girl, and then the group out of real curiosity. 

“That’s Laura,” Brian answered him. 

“Who?” Roger asked, looking over at the two by the wall again, John laughing at whatever the girl had just said. 

“She’s Mary’s friend. And John’s, apparently,” Brian replied. “You done with whatever business you had in the closet to leave?” 

Roger ignored his question and sat down on the empty spot on couch that Freddie and Mary had vacated a few minutes ago, and couldn’t help but glance over at them one more time, missing Brian’s quiet eye roll. It wasn’t that he wanted to keep looking, but it was unusual seeing the ever-so-quiet John so at ease and joking like that, keeping a long conversation with a pretty girl, no less. They were standing awfully close to each other, too. He wasn't aware that John had a girlfriend. Was that his girlfriend? Maybe, maybe not. The girl tilted her head slightly to the right, listening intently to what John was saying, her long, light brown hair falling across her—

“Don’t you know that staring is rude?” 

Roger swiftly looked up to find Freddie standing in front of him with Mary with a knowing look, his smile betraying his trying to be serious tone.

"Oh, shut up,” was Roger’s only response as he returned his focus back to his friends.

“I’m thinking about heading out, actually. See you guys later?” Mary told them, waiting to hear their byes before walking over to John and Laura. She had been keeping an eye on them through the night and really didn’t want to interrupt them, seeing them reconnect and enjoying the company after so long. They were all smiles and giggles and just so _cute._ But it was getting late and she had an early shift at work tomorrow and knew that Laura also had an extremely early morning class.

“Laura, I’m going to head out,” Mary called out to her from a few feet away, not wanting to disrupt them, but having done so nonetheless. Laura eyes widened a little in surprise looking at Mary, returning back to reality from the trip down memory lane, and gave her a small nod.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t realize it got so late,” Laura commented, quickly glancing at the time on his watch.

“Me neither,” John scratched the back of his neck and looked around the room. Half the people that were there had left without them knowing and he could see Roger and Brian from the couch staring at them. He looked back at Laura. They were still standing close to each other, and as if she could read his mind, she took a step back from him and looked across the flat in silence. It seemed the party had died down considerably without them knowing.

“I think I’ll be heading out, too,” Laura told him quietly with a shy smile, one that John returned as he nodded. John followed behind her as she walked over to the couch where now only Mary and the band remained to say her goodbyes.

There was a guy sitting there she didn’t recognize and could only guess he was that Roger, the drummer that Brian and Freddie were joking about earlier. He certainly looked the part, with his messy blonde hair and big eyes.

She looked away before he looked up to stare at her.

“Well, it was nice meeting you all,” Laura smiled, not looking at anyone specifically as she grabbed Mary’s hand and took a step back to leave. They all said their goodbyes to each other. To be truthful, she didn’t expect to see much of them in the future, maybe with the exception of John, who she did look at one last time, still standing there, looking at her again with the same unreadable expression on his face as he did when he first looked at her.

The girls trailed out first hand in hand, a smile on both of their faces. 

“So, you and John seemed to be having fun,” Mary whispered in her ears with a playful smile as they walked out of whosever flat it was.

“Oh, shut up, Mary,” Laura rolled her eyes and whispered back to her.


End file.
